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Lord Kelnor, Earl of Drumer
Lord Kelnor, also known as the Earl of Drumer, is the central antagonist of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook House of Hell (renamed House of Hades in the U.S.A); a horror-themed gamebook notable for taking place in modern-day earth instead of the Fantasy world of Titan. He first appears as the wealthy aristocrat offering shelter to the playable character, but he is soon revealed to be the head of a devil-worshipping cult that must be taken down. His name "Drumer" is an anagram of "murder". Characteristics Little is known about Lord Kelnor. From what he tells the player character at the beginning of the game, he inherited the title and enjoyed a vast fortune and prosperous domain, until his sister Margaret died in unexplained circumstances, which led people to flee his domain and giving his mansion a gloomy reputation. It is eventually revealed that this reputation is in fact well-earned, due to the activities of the demon-worshipping cult he leads, and the many people he abducted to sacrifice them in gory ceremonies. In fact, his sister was killed by her husband, a vampire named George of Danvers who is one of his lieutenants. Lord Kelnor presents the facade of a dapper, courteous and refined gentleman to the outside world, while he is in fact a cruel, vicious and remorseless zealot who would sacrifice anyone to his idol, who did not care the slightest for his family and who gets rid of all witnesses. He seems quite close with his butler Franklins, who partakes in the cult, and the cultists hold him in very high regards. He made a pact with demons who granted him dark powers and control over the forces of evil, enabling him to swarm his mansion with monsters of all sorts under his control. The Master The mysterious leader of the cult, about whom the wretched cultists speak in hushed voice, with much reverence. He is said to be a highly powerful being who commands the cult and the monsters, deciding the sacrifices and the initiations. At first, everything suggests that he is none other than Lord Kelnor, but upon further investigation in the manor, things appear to be more complex. Who is the Master ? Is he even human to begin with ? Is he the commander of the cult, or the very demon they worship to whom they owe their power ? Can someone unveil the truth and be ready for it ? Only time will tell. Role in the Story The gamebook takes place in the English countryside, around the 1980. The playable character is an everyday person whose car just broke down in a dark and stormy night, forcing them to seek shelter in the nearby mansion: the House of Drumer. The book has a total of Fear that must be kept as low as possible. Exceeding this total means getting scared to death and ending the game. Also, the hero must reduce their total of skill (power-level) by 3 when lacking a weapon. The gamebook is a very difficult survival, full of dead-ends, traps, riddles, and passwords, forcing the hero to focus on exploration and always avoid fighting more than two foes at once. At first, Franklins the butler leads the hero to the dining room, where Lord Kelnor bids them welcome. The Earl offers them dinner before inviting them to spend the night here since the phone does not work (or so he says). They must hose the food and drinks wisely lest they die poisoned. Later that night, the hero must ambush Shekou the hunchback sent to capture them and lead them to be sacrificed; and learn from him that one of Lord Kelnor's disciples is about to get initiated. The hero must explore the mansion, whose rooms are each named after a demon or a biblical evil, and look for a weapon and clues. The kitchens, the cells, the torture room, the pentacle and the ceremonial room must be avoided at all costs. They must follow the ghost maid, kill the old, bedridden woman's attack dogs to get her to talk, get some garlic should they run into the vampire George of Danvers, and investigate closely. They must beware the prisoners, maddened by their tortures, who might backstab them in a bid to escape or get spared. Among them is the Man in White, a cultist who got on Lord Kelnor's bad side, whose indication proves useful, but not mandatory. When meeting Shekou again, the hero must get him drunk with brandy to get the right clue, or he leads them to a trap. They must find the Kriss Knife (a type of Malaysian dagger) that the cult uses for sacrifices, and the Iron Key to open the room with red walls, the only place where Lord Kelnor and the mysterious Master can be defeated, simulating a battle in the fires of hell itself. The Final Battle The Red Room happens to be the dining room in which it all began, under its true aspect. The hero must ring the bell to call Franklins and get ready to confront both Lord Kelnor and his butler. The Earl of Drumer is a dangerous foe with 9 in skill and 10 in stamina (life-points), but the Master reveals himself after he is slain and kills the hero in a rage, stabbing them from behind and trampling them. The hero must target Franklins, who has 8 in skill and 8 in stamina, but the battle ends after he is struck. It now appears that Franklins is an alias for the Master, who reveals his true form: an enormous and highly powerful Hell Demon, who uses this unassuming aspect to command the cult undetected. The mere sight of the Master adds 3 points to the hero's fear score. If they are still alive, they must fight for their lives. The Hell Demon is a formidable foe with 14 in skill (2 over the normal maximum) and 12 in stamina, who fights with his huge claws and can only be harmed by the Kriss. Without it, the hero is done for, but with it they gain 6 skill points and can hold their own. Or win without major troubles if their original skill score was high enough. The Master's destruction sets fire to the House of Drumer, leaving the Earl, his disciples and his monsters to perish in a fiery inferno, described by the narration as "a fitting end for a house of hell"... The hero escapes, but alas for them, having saved the region from the cult will not fix their car. Category:Gamebooks Villains Category:Horror Villains Category:Male Category:Aristocrats Category:Cult Leaders Category:Dark Priests Category:Magic Category:Satanism Category:Faux Affably Evil Category:Murderer Category:Oppressors